Italian Wedding Soup

I grew up on this special soup made by my beloved grandmother. Using her base recipe, my husband and I have added our own twist to create a truely delicious soup.

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1  lb ground beef
• 2  eggs, slightly beaten
• 1  cup  chopped fresh parsley
• 3  large  finely chopped garlic cloves
• 1⁄3 cup  breadcrumbs
• 1⁄2 cup  diced onion
• 2  links hot Italian sausage
• 3⁄4 cup  of chopped chicken or 3⁄4 cup turkey
• 4 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1  chicken bouillon cube
• 1  cup orzo pasta
• 1 1⁄2 cups  chopped spinach or 1 1⁄2 cups escarole
• 3  large  finely choppped garlic cloves
• 1⁄2 cup  diced celery
• 1⁄2 cup  diced carrot
• 1⁄3 cup  shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1⁄3 cup  grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In large bowl mix ground beef, eggs, parsley, 1/2 of the chopped garlic cloves, bread crumbs and 1/2 of the dices onions. Mix well and roll into very small meat balls. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Let cool.
2. Brown Italian sausage in fry pan with water until cooked. Keep adding small amounts of water as it evaporated during browning. Remove sausage when done and let cool. Slice sausages and then quarter slices into bite size pieces.
3. In a large sauce pan, warm chicken broth and bouillon cube. Stir until bouillon cube is disolved. Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook 10-15 minutes. Serve hot sprinkling with motzarella and parmasan cheese.